Mechanical coal sampler



Nov. 24, 1964 G. B. CROSS 3,158,030

MECHANICAL COAL, SAMPLER Filed Oct. 13, 1960 3 SheetS -Sheet 1 oJx/orzli /ud ma- INVENTOR.

Nov. 24, 1964 s. B. CROSS 3,158,030

MECHANICAL COAL SAMPLER Filed Oct. 13, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 gown wuamwMENTOR.

Nov. 24, 1964 G. B. CROSS I 3,158,030

MECHANICAL COAL SAMPLER Filed Oct. 13, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 g Of G O7L6320M INVENT OR.

w gfr United States Patent 3,158,034), MECHANICAL COAL SAMELER GordonBuford Gross, Kingston, Terran, sssignor to Tennessee Valley Authority,a corporation or the United States Filed 6st. 13, Wet), Ser. No. 62,512

4 Qlaims. (Cl. 73- -2-23) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), sec.266) The invention herein described may be manufactured and used by orfor the Government for governmental purposes Without payment to me ofany royalty thereon.

My invention relates to coal-handling apparatus, and more particularlyto a mechanical device for sampling coal delivered by truck or otheropen-type conveyance for subsequent analysis to determine the quality ofthe quality of the coal.

It is customary in the coal industry for coal operators to establishcoal-preparation plants whereby they could better the quality of coalfor their commercial trade. To determine the quality of coalin aconveyance or group of conveyances loaded for shipment, it has beennecessary for the coal companies to establish means of collecting,preparing, and analyzing coal samples. By following this procedure,numerous coal companies have atempted to record the ash content of coalin each car shipped. It has been the practice in the past that smples ofthe coal being loaded intov the car be taken at regular intervals whilethe car was being loaded. To take these samples, it has been necessaryin the past to obtain the specimens by such means as passing a shovel orvessel of some kind through the stream of coal being discharged from aloading boom or conveyor into the car. Generally, it was left to theparty who was taking the sample when and how the sample was to be taken.A truly representative sample collected in this manner depended almostentirely'on the skill of the operator.

In recent years it has been the practice among numerous purchasersofcoal to establish their own laboratories for collecting samples of coalas received and analyzing for quality. Purchasers of large quantities ofcoal, such as steam-plant operators, have found that it is necessary toanalyze representative samples of coal as it is received at the steamplants to determine its heat value and certain other characteristicssuch as its sulfur and ash content. It hasbeen found that analysis ofthe coal delivered must be made in order to carry out properly theprovisions of coal-purchase contracts, the provisions of penalty-premiumsystems, and to obtain valuable operating data from the coal-burningoperation. It is therefore important that reliable and representativesamples of the coal be obtained, and this has been found to be somewhatdifficult in the instance in which coal is delivered to the steam plantsby truck or railroad car.

In many instances, purchase contracts for coal are awarded toresponsible bidders offering coal of acceptable quality at lowestdelivered cost per million B.t.u. Samples of coal received are analyzedto compare its quality with representations made by successful bidders.If analysis shows a producers coal is better than specified, he is paida premium. If the reverse is true, he is penalized.

The penalty-premium system makes it desirable to sample every shipmentof coal received. Some coal Vendors have learned that they could profitunder the usual method of sampling near the surface of the load bysimply placing a thin layer of good coal on top of a load of inferiorcoal. Thus, hand-sampling by shovel did not reveal the substandard coalbeneath the thin layer of good coal. The contractor received a premiumprice and avoided having his .coal rejected on its physical appearance.

Occurrences of the above-mentioned type have been rather frequent in thepast, both in the instance of coal producers loading trucks and railroadcars. I have thus found that, to insure the highest practical degree ofaccuracy in determining the quality of the coal already loaded, it isnecessary for the sample to include coal from the top down as nearly aspossible to the bottom of the load.

My invention is directed to an improved core-type coalsarnpling device.

I have overcome the ditficulties inherent in sampling methods anddevices of the type used in the prior art to a substantial extent in thepresent invention by providing a rectangular-shaped sampling tube havinga rigid cutting edge at its bottom and having closing gates located ontwo opposite sides of the tube just above the cutting edge. Furthermore,several new advantageous features over conventional coal-samplingmethods and devices are realized by the present invention.

Among these advantageous features are rapid, eflicient, and accuratesamplings which may be obtained without the need for skilled help,samplings which give a substantially complete cross section of the coalpile from top to bottom, and a reliable, simple, rugged, and dependablesampling device.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide acoal-sampling device to enable the taking of undisturbed core samples toappropriate depths from the surface of a bed of coal.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a coal-samplingdevice to enable the taking of undisturbed core samplesof coal toappropriate depths from the surface of the pile, which device is readilytransportable and which may be easily operated by only one person undera minimum of supervision. p

A further object of the present invention is to provide a coal-samplingapparatus for obtaining core samples from a bed of coal in such a manneras to substantially eliminate the element of human error associated withdevices of the prior art.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide acoal-sampling apparatus of the core type having a rectangular-shapedtube which readily penetrates the bed of coal to the proper depth,regardless of whether the coal is fine and loosely packed or is lumpyand tightly packed.

In carrying out the objects of my invention inone form thereof, I employtwo horizontal base plates positioned and separated vertically from eachother by a spring means. These base plates are located above a vibratingmeans such as an air hammer. A rectangular-shaped sampling tube providedwith a rigid cutting edge atits bottom is positioned directly beneaththe vibrating means. Two sections on opposite sides of therectangular-shaped cutting tube, just above the cutting edge, areremoved for installation of two closing gates to hold a coal specimenwhile the sampling .tube is being withdrawn from a coal bed. Theseclosing gates are pneumatically operated.

In collecting a sample, the entire assembly is moved over a truckload ofcoal. If the coal is fine and loosely packed, the normal thrust ofvertical air cylinders will force the rectangular tube into the coalbed. If the coal is lumpy or tightly packed, an air hammer may be usedto drive the rectangular tube into the coal. After the tube haspenetrated the coal bed'to the predetermined proper depth, the gatesareclosed. The tube assembly with the'core sample therein is thenvertically removed from the coal bed and subsequently moved horizontallyover a conveyor belt upon which the sample is discharged when the gatesare opened. 7

My invention, together with further objects and advanv tages thereof,will be better understood from consideration of the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a side view and general layout of one preferred type ofcoal-sampling apparatus constructed according to my invention.

FIGURE 2 shows a top view of the coal sampler.

FIGURE 3 shows an enlarged side view of the positioning and drivingmechanism beneath which is mounted the rectangular tube sampler.

FIGURE 4 shows an enlarged front view of the positioning and drivingmechanism for the rectangular sampler tube. 7

FIGURE 5 shows an enlarged side view of the rectangular sampler tube.

FIGURE 6 shows an enlarged front view of the rectangular sampler tube.

Referring now more pmticularly to FIGURE 1, there is shown the supportframe 1 upon which trolley wheels 2 ride for lateral positioning ofcarriage plates 3. Air cylinders 4 are mounted on plate 6. Guide rods 5pass through apertures in plate 6. Horizontal base plate 7 is attachedto guide rods 5 at a point below carriage plate 3. Horizontal base plate8 is shown attached to and separated from base plate 7 by spring means9. Alternatively, base plates 7 and 8 may be separated by otherresilient means such as a block of rubber. A vibrating means, showngenerally as air hammer mechanism It is attached to horizontal baseplate 8. The rectangular sampling tube 11 is attached beneath air hammerIt) and may be positioned throughout the vertical limits of samplingrange 12 by means of guide rods 5, and the piston rods from aircylinders 4. Rectangular sampling tube 11 may be moved in a horizontaldirection by air cylinder 13 and piston rod 14. The horizontal limits ofsampling are indicated by sampling range 12. and, in addition,rectangular sampling tube 11 may he moved horizontally over conveyorbelt 15 for discharge of the coal sample. Conveyor belt 15 dischargesthe core sample into crusher 16, from which the sample obtained issubsequently prepared for chemical analysis.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURES 3 and 4-, there is shown theside and front views of the horizontal and vertical positioning meansfor moving sampling tube 11 throughout sampling range 12 andhorizontally over conveyor belt 15. I have found that separation ofhorizontal base plates 7 and 8 by spring means 9 provides the desireddegree of mechanical dampening to ensure that the rectangular sampletube may easily penetrate the coal bed without unnecessarily disturbingthe compaction of the core sample during successive stages ofpenetration of the sampler tube into the coal bed.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURES 5 and 6, there is shown thefront and side views of the sampler tube 11 provided with rigid cuttingedge I7. Clamshell gates 18 are located on two opposite sides of samplertube 11 and are in the normally open position shown during penetrationof tube 11 into the coal bed. After pene tration of sampler tube 11 intothe coal bed, clams 18 are closed by rods 19 activated by air cylinders29 to hold the core sample within tube 11 until it is discharged ontothe conveyor belt 15 shown in FIGURE 1.

Cir

Obviously, tube 11 may be made in any desired dimension to obtain anddeliver a certain proportion of the coal in the vehicle. However, I havefound that under normal operating circumstances the sampler tube worksbest when its inside dimensions are generally a 6-inch square and inwhich the clam openings in the sides therein are approximately 4 by 5inches.

In the instance of a shipment of inferior coal toploaded with a thinlayer of good coal, the discharge of the core sample from tube 11 ontomoving conveyor belt 15 has been found to reveal a line of demarcationbetween the good coal and the inferior coal on said belt. Thus,top-loaded shipments may be easily detected by visual inspection of thedischarged sample on moving belt 15.

While I have shown and described a particular embodiment of myinvention, modifications and variations thereof will occur to thoseskilled in the art. I wish it to be understood, therefore, that theappended claims are intended to cover such modifications and variationswhich are within the true scope and spirit of my invention.

What I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

l. A core-type coal-sampling apparatus comprising a vertical samplertube, rectangular in horizontal cross section; rigid cutting meanssecured to the bottom edge of said sampler tube, said cutting meansjuxtaposed to the peripheral surface of said sampler tube; andcore-keeper means to secure coal cores therein for removal with saidsampler tube, said core-keeper means operatively mounted contiguous tothe core-receiving end of said sampler tube and comprising clamshingedly mounted in apertures formed in two opposite walls of saidsampler tube for operation by remotely controlled operatively engagedclosing means, said clams, when in the open position, and said closingmeans disposed outwardly from said vertical sampler tube walls.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in combination with vibratory means disposedfor transmission of oscillatory motion to said apparatus in asubstantially vertical direction.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 in combination with mechanical dampeningmeans, said dampening means comprising two horizontally disposed baseplates separated vertically from each other by resilientpressure-absorbing means.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 in combination with a sampler tubepositioning means remotely controlled and operative in the vertical andhorizontal planes.

OTHER REFERENCES German Printed Application El0l971 X/421, Nov. 15,1955.

1. A CORE-TYPE COAL-SAMPLING APPARATUS COMPRISING A VERTICAL SAMPLERTUBE, RECTANGULAR IN HORIZONTAL CROSS SECTION; RIGID CUTTING MEANSSECURED TO THE BOTTOM EDGE OF SAID SAMPLER TUBE, SAID CUTTING MEANSJUXTAPOSED TO THE PERIPHERAL SURFACE OF SAID SAMPLER TUBE; ANDCORE-KEEPER MEANS TO SECURE COAL CORES THEREIN FOR REMOVAL WITH SAIDSAMPLER TUBE, SAID CORE-KEEPER MEANS OPERATIVELY MOUNTED CONTIGUOUS TOTHE CORE-RECEIVING END OF SAID SAMPLER TUBE AND COMPRISING CLAMSHINGEDLY MOUNTED IN APERTURES FORMED IN TWO OPPOSITE WALLS OF SAIDSAMPLER TUBE FOR OPERATION BY REMOTELY CONTROLLED OPERATIVELY ENGAGEDCLOSING MEANS, SAID CLAMS, WHEN IN THE OPEN POSITION, AND SAID CLOSINGMEANS DISPOSED OUTWARDLY FROM SAID VERTICAL SAMPLER TUBE WALLS.